Aston Martin Rapide S Runs The 'Ring While Sipping Hydrogen

Aston Martin, it seems, has just made a bit of history. It's probably not what you're expecting though because it doesn't involve gasoline, a dairy farm's worth of dead cows, or references to one iconic British MI-6 agent. Instead, the automaker has just completed the first Hydrogen-only, zero CO2 emissions lap of Germany's Nürburgring Circuit. This was accomplished using a prototype of the new Hydrogen Hybrid Rapide S with Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez at the wheel.

The Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S is powered by a twin-turbocharged version of the oh-so delightful 6.0-liter V-12 unit found in many vehicles in the automaker's lineup. This particular mill, however, sips the first unit found on your Periodic Table of Elements and doesn't emit any carbon dioxide. The car is being prepped to run in the upcoming Nürburgring 24 Hour race, where it will be entered in the E1-XP experimental class. While it's capable of running on hydrogen only, gasoline only, or a mixture of both, Aston Martin chose to run it with just a bit of H2 in order to pop the car into the record books.

Though the street version won't have the hybrid hydrogen-gasoline engine, the Rapide S is making its way onto a very well-heeled section of town near you very soon. That version will boast a 550-horsepower V-12 engine, and the average owner should be quite content to emit as much CO2 as possible.